Prayer News

Pray for Muslims Undertaking the Hajj

This is a call for Christians to pray October 13 - 15, 2013! The Hajj, one of the five pillars of the Islamic religion, begins on the 8th day of the 12th month of Dhul Hijjah of the Islamic calendar. Because the calendar is based on the moon’s cycle, the Hajj begins nine days earlier each consecutive year. In 2013, the Hajj will start on October the 13th and last for 3-4 days. During this time, Muslims from all over the world will flock to Mecca to perform the rituals and follow the steps of Muhammad, their prophet.

http://www.pray-ap.info/hajj has a prayer guide plus a brief prayer video for it.

The IPC Website

The website consists of the following sections, and we would appreciate it if you could assist us in the following ways:

1. Home: Please send us news of international prayer-related interest such as upcoming initiatives and conferences. We will update our calendar regularly with such dates.

2. Regions: Please send us strategic prayer requests and alerts for your nation or region.

Please send your suggestions to the IPC administrator Cheryl Sharps at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About International Prayer Connect (IPC)

OUR VISION:

"Compelled by God to seek Christ's glory worldwide for the blessing, healing, and transforming of the nations, International Prayer Connect exists as a coalition of prayer networkers and mobilizers working together to motivate, develop and equip national movements and local churches to fill all nations with prayer for the fulfillment of the Great Commandment and the completion of the Great Commission."

HOW WE OPERATE:

The IPC is not an organization as such. We are a fellowship of people involved in mobilizing prayer throughout the world. We function as an international “network of networks”, connecting international, regional, and national prayer ministries and networks. We also arrange or support special prayer initiatives that bring prayer leaders together from time to time to pray for matters of regional and global concern to the Body of Christ. Regional prayer summits have been arranged or supported by the IPC in most regions of the world as well as international prayer initiatives for the United Nations, Hollywood, and other issues.

The IPC is led by an international leadership team, now called the International Prayer Council, is composed of twenty leaders who coordinate regional prayer networks or international prayer initiatives of various kinds. We seek to be catalysts and connectors within the global prayer movement towards the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14- that

“the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

We do not have an official membership but connect with individuals and networks through IPC Connections, a periodical newsletter distributed via e-mail to give prayer information to interested people.

Please share this newsletter with prayer coordinators, prayer network leaders, and others who have an interest in the global prayer movement so that they can be informed about different prayer initiatives, existing prayer networks, and how to participate in them.

LATIN AMERICA: Impact of the World Prayer Assembly

Certainly WPA 2012 was a life change experience for every single person that had the opportunity to attend this historic gathering last May.

After we got back from Indonesia we were overwhelmed not only for the amazing and powerful visitation of The Holy Spirit that until this day we are feeling in a mighty way, but for the huge responsibility that we felt to bring to our Latin American countries which is the experience and the anointing of the New Wave for global revival.

The following activities came out after WPA:

• The III Continental Prayer Initiative -Latin America was held in Honduras on Sept 17-18 as part of COICOM 2012. Pastor Roy Santos (Children in Prayer) was the host. COICOM - Latin American Confederation of Communicators, Mass Media, Pastors and Christian Leaders - gathers every year more than 2000 continental leaders.The WPA Vimeo documentary was showed in the opening. Pastor Santos and the Honduras's National Prayer Council had a Prayer powerful program that extended until the end of the month.

• As an outcome of the continental prayer initiatives the website: http://www.convocatorias-continentales.com/ was created and our place in Facebook as well.

• Children pray for Chile, August 03, 2012.
Different Children Prayer Webs will gather at La plaza de La Constitucion to pray for Chile.

• Day of Prayer for Paraguay. August 10-11

• Sun of Justice COLOMBIA EVENT August 24-25. A time of forgiveness, confession, prophetic worship and intercession for Colombia.

• First International Congress of Worship and Intercession promoted by the Ministry of Gideons 24 hours in Belo Horizonte, Brazil which will take place on 1-3 November.

• A good number of WPA attendees representing the Mexican delegation will celebrate a March of Glory in Jerusalem Oct 28- Nov 6.

• WORLDWIDE PRAYER CONVOCATION for October 12, 2012 (Alineamiento Mundial de Oracion October 12, 2012) A prayer initiative for the fulfillment of Mat 24:14

• Ethne2012 27 Nov-1 Dec. Latin America will join a global initiative of mission workers from every continent to reach the 27.9% of the world which has no access to the Gospel in word, deed or miracle.

• Adora America 12.12.12.12. Continental mobilization for worship and prayer.

Our prayer to The Father is that the "WAVE" visits every Latin American country and the rest of the world.

UNHCR works to avert winter discontent for Syrians in Jordan

Two youngsters wrapped up against the cold at the Za’atri camp reception centre. They are from the western Syrian city of Homs.

UNHCR / G. Beals

ZA'ATRI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan, November 14 (UNHCR) – The deserts that mark the border between Syria and Jordan are covered in a sea of muddy slop. Slanting rain and hail have made the passage of trucks an ordeal. Sometimes the trail is so bad that transport is impossible.

And so Syrian refugees from cities such as Homs, Idlib and Dara'a, as well as rural Damascus, make the crossing on foot. Some slog through in shoes; many cross barefoot and without coats as the chilly weather of winter approaches.

For most, the rain is just a distraction in the search for a haven from the war raging on the Syrian side of the border. "I would rather have rain than bombs," said 28-year-old Fahad, who worked as a driver in Homs before deciding to flee the increasing violence.

With Syria well into its third year of conflict, UNHCR and its partners are working against the clock to deliver the needed supplies for another winter. Weather forecasts are predicting a particularly harsh one. The agency and its partners are aware that even in a mild winter, the grinding toll of nearly three years of destruction would make life miserable.

"In Idlib, there is no gas, no bread no milk," said Khalid, aged 18. "My country is a place of suffering and I don't think people will be able to survive another winter."

For the government of Jordan, UNHCR and its partners, the logistical challenge of getting refugees from the deserts to camps is an increasing challenge. Army helicopters now fly food into the border areas that are impossible to reach by truck. Some refugees have left luggage behind, because the priority for the few trucks that manage the terrible road trip is to take people over cargo.

UNHCR Representative to Jordan Andrew Harper says that the organization and its partners are ready in both Za'atri Refugee Camp and in Jordan's cities to provide all that is needed to survive the cold season. UNHCR and its partners are busy distributing packages of winter clothing, some 600,000 items in total, donated by Japanese retail giant, Uniqlo, for needy families.

A freighter carrying a consignment of Toms Shoes is bound for Jordan and will dock in a few days in the southern Jordanian port of Aqaba. Caravans are being allocated to Za'atri residents who are still living in tents. Already 485,000 blankets have been distributed since the camp opened last year.

But just as important are the access roads along which the Jordanian authorities transport refugees who have crossed the border. UNHCR is working to ensure that more than 60 kilometres of roads are repaired or constructed.

"In many ways road construction represents a key protection priority for us," says Harper. "We're working to ensure that the roads are constructed so that people can make it from the border to safer areas."

Throughout the region, UNHCR and its partners are working to ensure that refugees will survive the winter. In Lebanon, UNHCR and partners will provide such goods as stove heaters, blankets and money for fuel to 90,000 families, or roughly 450,000 people.

In northern Iraq, UNHCR and partners are providing some 200,000 Syrian refugees with the means to survive sub-zero temperatures during the winter months. Prefabricated shower blocks will be constructed so that families will have warm water. UNHCR's medical partners are busy strengthening the health surveillance.

In Za'atri, refugees are also taking preparations for winter into their own hands. Along the roadside, vendors sell used winter clothing and shoes at bargain prices. People are digging trenches near their caravans and building up rubble and dirt mounds near their tents or caravan homes to protect against the rain.

UNHCR is also helping urban refugees and others living outside camps to get through the winter. The refugee agency provides monthly cash assistance to some 75,000 vulnerable Syrians through an agreement with the Cairo Amman Bank, which helps to disburse a monthly cash allowance. Beginning this month, the level of assistance is being increased to cover the costs of blankets, fuel and winter clothing.

By Greg Beals in Za'atri Refugee Camp, Jordan

Typhoon Haiyan evacuees share tales of loss and survival

Walter Valdez, a 33-year-old waiter, lost his wife and three children when the typhoon hit Tacloban. Two of his children are missing.

UNHCR/R. Rocamora

CEBU, Philippines, November 15 (UNHCR) – Jane Ilagan knew something was wrong when she tasted the "salty rain." The storm surge that accompanied Typhoon Haiyan in the early hours of November 8 drenched her home with seawater and made her family flee to higher ground. Even there, the water came up to her chest.

"For seven hours until the water receded, we had to lift the kids up so they wouldn't be soaked. It was very cold and their lips were turning black," said the 33-year-old mother of one from Guiuan. The municipality is located in the central Philippines province of Eastern Samar, where the devastating typhoon first made landfall.

"Everyone who lives close to the [Guiuan] coastline is dead," Ilagan said. "I'm just happy to be alive." The UN estimates that 11.8 million people were affected by the disaster, including more than 920,000 made homeless. The government says more than 3,600 deaths had been reported as of Thursday, but the actual number was likely to be higher.

Walter Alvarez almost joined the death toll. The 23-year-old resident of Tacloban, one of the worse-hit areas, found his wife, daughter and mother-in-law's bodies after the flooding eased. Two children are still missing. He survived by holding onto a coconut tree, squeezing it so tight, he cut his arms and legs. A week later, the scabs are healing slowly.

But his heart is still raw. "I cannot stand the pain and trauma of staying in Tacloban," he said, explaining why he decided to board the C130 aid delivery flight run by the military to Cebu a few days ago.

Both Walter and Jane were among dozens at a transit centre in Cebu for people evacuated by air from the typhoon-affected areas. Here they are registered and given cooked food and clothes donated by the community. They sleep in the centre or the garden outside, and queue up for the two bathrooms available.

Some have found their own way, but many are waiting for a chance to go to the Philippines capital, Manila.

Jane said her extended family left Guiuan because the coconut trees had all collapsed. For people who rely on these trees to weave mats for a living, losing them meant losing their livelihood – and time to look elsewhere for the means to survive.

"We don't have money to go to Manila by ourselves," said Jane, who has been at the Cebu transit centre with her extended family since last Saturday. "We hope we can get a ride with a humanitarian plane going there."

Walter sighs: "I don't know how to go on alone. I plan to go to Manila and restart my life. Maybe one day when I'm better, I'll go back to Tacloban."

UNHCR is working in Cebu to coordinate the logistical supply of relief items for typhoon survivors. It is airlifting emergency tents and non-food supplies for 80,000 people. It is also planning to distribute solar-powered lamps to enhance the safety of women and children at risk. Co-leading the protection cluster with the government under the inter-agency response to this natural disaster, UNHCR also provides protection coordination and delivery, identifying the most vulnerable people and ensuring their access to basic aid and services.

By Vivian Tan in Cebu, Philippines

International Prayer Initiative for the United Nations Friday November 15 2013 - Wednesday November 20 2013 Location of events

Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel & Conference Center
2 Meadowlands Plaza
East Rutherford, New Jersey 07073, USA
Phone:(201) 896-0500

Children in Prayer Global Consultation

November 15-18

International Prayer Initiative for the United Nations

November 18-20

UN Prayer Initiative 11/18-20 Event goals

International Prayer Initiative for the United Nations November 18-20, New York City and East Rutherford, New Jersey In connection with the UN Universal Children’s Day our theme and focus will be “Children and Youth: Investing in the Future”

Since its inception, the United Nations has been on a mission to ensure that all people have hope for the future. Whether in peacemaking, food production efforts or education, the goal has always been a better world for future generations.

The children and youth of the world represent our future. Actually, children are the future. When the U.N. established the eight Millennium Development Goals, in 2000, the central idea was a safer, more secure future for our children. Many organizations and churches are also deeply involved in sharing Christ’s love through helping to improve the lives of children worldwide.

As the end of the 15-year MDG window approaches, and as governments, agencies and civil society assess and report, one thing will be clear: There is still so much more to be done!

In recognition of the need for global partnerships and in support of the work of the United Nations' efforts to serve the children and youth of the world, a global consortium of Christian organizations will convene in New York City on November 18-20, 2013 along with prayer and ministry leaders as well as praying children and youth.

In conjunction with Universal Children's Day, November 20, the goals of this gathering are:

1. To engage partners from Christian NGOs around the world in a more focused effort to better the lives of children.

2. To seek God together in prayer for His help, guidance and transformation for the youth and children of our world.

3. To express support for the work of the United Nations and member states in their endeavors to create a more hopeful future for the children of the world.

4. To connect U.N. personnel and diplomats with leaders from Christian non-governmental organizations and other ministries for mutual benefit and greater collaborative action on behalf of children and youth.

We hope you will be able to take part in this strategic and crucial initiative in New York City. We will hear heart-gripping presentations by various organizations on the situation of youth and children and respond with times of concerted prayer and deliberation. Through setting up a booth and/or personal interaction, you will also be able to share your organization’s work on behalf of children with ambassadors, UN officials, other Christian

NGOs as well as with hundreds of ministry leaders, youth and children from around the world.

You are warmly welcomed to register here by September 1. However, space will be limited at the UN so please respond as soon as possible to hold your spot. International or out of town participants are urged to arrive no later than November 18 afternoon and stay together at the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel for which we have negotiated the best possible rate for you. You can reserve your room at this link.

Our program will begin on November 18 with dinner together at 6 pm followed by an introductory session of worship, prayer, briefing and sharing. The initiative will conclude on the 20th after the evening session at the hotel at 9 pm. Please book your flights to depart on November 21.

For more information or to give any suggestions you may have, please contact the International Prayer Council office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call our administrator, Cheryl Sharps at 1 505 4007437.

UN Initiative Planning Team:

Geoff Tunnicliffe and Deborah Fikes, World Evangelical Alliance

John Austin, Christian Embassy

Joel Edwards, Micah Challenge

Roberta Hromas and Mark Pritchett, American Christian Trust

Ian Cole, World Prayer Centre

Jody Wood, New York Intercessors

John Robb, International Prayer Council

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